Stromal Cyr61 Confers Resistance To Mitoxantrone Via Spleen Tyrosine Kinase Activation In Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a life-threatening bone marrow malignancy with a relapse rate near 50% in children, despite aggressive chemotherapy. Accumulating evidence shows that the bone marrow stromal environment protects a subset of leukemia cells and allows them to survive chemotherapy, eventually leading to recurrence. The factors that contribute to stroma-induced chemotherapy resistance are largely undetermined in AML. Our goal is to delineate the mechanisms underlying stroma-mediated chemotherapy resistance in human AML cells.